Time Flow is a two screen projection and is a short contemplation on film time, light and movement, filmed on the on River Stour, Suffolk.
Two 16mm cameras were used for filming and place adjacent to each other to create a visual continuum and panorama of a small section of river surface. Both cameras started recording at exactly the same time at the beginning of filming. However the left screen projection was filmed at the ‘normal’ 25 frames per second in ‘real time’ for a continuous duration of 11minutes. While for the right screen projection, the first 100 feet of film was filmed at 50fps which runs slower in comparison to the left screen when projected. The next 100ft of film was shot at 10fps which on projection runs faster than the left hand screen. This is followed by the next 100ft shot at 1 fame every second which is even faster in comparison to the left screen. The final section of film was shot at 1 frame every 10 seconds which was filmed into dusk and becomes a time lapse recording changes of light/colour and cloud movement reflected on the water surface. This section continued to be filmed for hours after the 11 minute, 400ft continuous take, for the left screen, had finished.
Left screen: 400ft continuous take for 11minutes
Right screen: 1. 100ft at 50fps; 2. 100ft at 10fps; 3. 100ft at 1fps;
4. 100ft at 1 frame every 10 second
A fishing float was used twice in shooting the film to make visual time references between the two screens. The float is first passed through the section of river where the camera is recording in ‘real time’ near to the start of the film, and continues to flow on through into the adjacent framed area filmed at 50fps. When projected the float arrives in the right screen at a later time. The float is used again later in the film in the same way, flowing first through the ‘real time’ take and then through the framed area filmed at 10 fps. This time the float appears on the right screen first before it appears on the left screen.
It is the intention in making this film that it should raise some interesting phenomenological questions about film time and representation, particularly in relationships between filming, projection and the spectators viewing experience.
